Font size:    Tell a friend

Campaign Call or Sex Hotline?

(KCBS Radio (CA))
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)  -- Voters in the North Bay are complaining about an unusually racy robo-call, a recorded phone message sent by a Republican candidate for Congress.

Voters in Sonoma and Napa counties were surprised on Sunday afternoon to hear what sounded like a call from a sex hotline on their answering machines.

"Mike Thompson's been a bad boy..." says a woman who sounds like a phone sex operator, calling on behalf of the campaign of Republican Zane Starkwolf. He's running against Democratic Congressman Mike Thompson.

Not only is it weird, but it's also illegal, according to Shaun Dakin who runs stoppoliticalcalls.org.

KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports

Use of automated political phone calls has reached epidemic proportions this year. Recorded callers include McCain and Obama supporters, Senator Barbara Boxer, even actress Roseanne Barr campaigning for anti-war Congressional candidate Cindy Sheehan.

Political robo-calls are exempt from the "Do Not Call List," but California has its own law, which means that under state public utilities commission regulations, a live person must introduce any recorded message. There are certain exceptions, such as the cable company, or in an emergency situation, but political “robo-calls” are not exempt, and all of these campaigns are subject to fines. But the California law is rarely, if ever, enforced.

http://www.kcbs.com/Campaign-Call-or-Sex-Hotline-/3209240